Lets Talk Positives - There Are Plenty Of Them

by ATLandUNC on May 9, 2009 7:19 PM EDT

With all the negatives that have been discussed with this team, lets take a second to focus on what is RIGHT. And there is actually plenty of it.

1. - The rotation - The Braves have arguably the best front 3 in baseball, and once Hanson gets the call, no one will have a better front 4. Lowe, Vazquez and Jurrjens have the ability to get hot and carry this team to the playoffs with even minimal offensive help.

1.5 -Jair Jurrjens himself - It is easy to forget that this guy is only TWENTY THREE years old. When you think about it, that is unbelievable with how he is pitching. Many pitchers do not even make a debut until they are 23, yet JJ already has a full solid season under his belt for us and is arguably the most consistent and fundamental pitcher on the team. If he can be locked up, he may end up being the biggest part of this teams future.

2. - Brian McCann - Boy is it good to have him back. Lasik, contacts, glasses, whatever - the guy can always hit. We have THE BEST offensive catcher in all of baseball on our team, and he is still only 25. Scary

3. - David Ross - Rarely have we ever mentioned both catchers as positives, but Ross has been one of our best hitters this year, and he played flawlessly while McCann was out. You cant beat that.

4. - The Bench - Infante and Prado have been playing great in their chances to get on the field, and both have helped the Braves avoid complete disaster while the rest of the starters struggled.

5. - The Bullpen - Although they have had some bumps along the way, the bullpen has what it takes to be very solid. Soriano and Gonzalez have been nasty lately, and they are shaping up to be one of the best 8th-9th guys tandems in all of baseball.

6 - The Future - Last but certainly not least, the hope that our farm system brings. Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen look poised to help as soon as given a chance, with Hanson looking more like a future #1 every day. Behind them lies a long line of young talent rearing to get a chance in the bigs, mainly the beast from the southeast, Jason Heyward. Regardless of how this season ends, the next several years look bright. The talent coming up, combined with the young core we have now will leave the NL running scared for years to come.

I know there can be more positives to talk about, as I didn't even mention how good Kotchman has been playing. So lets get a positive fanpost going and pick up the morale around here.

Tommy Hanson

This FanPost does not express the views or opinions of Talking Chop.

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Comments

nice

post. i agree 100% with what you said. And lets not forget, if Huddy can come back in August or even September 1st, its like adding a starter at the trade deadline.

IF we’re still in contention in mid August, and Huddy comes back along with Hanson already in the majors, we would have a rotation of: Lowe Hudson Vazquez Jurrjens and Hanson.

Yeah, good luck beating that.

GO BRAVES.
Tommy Hanson.

Good evening San Diego, Im Ron Bergundy. Tits McGee is off tonight.

by Scott Coleman on May 9, 2009 8:08 PM EDT reply actions

i loved how huddy acted like he didn’t know about the two-career-losses-with-a-three-run lead record yesterday. jesus, our rotation would be whoop ass with him back if javy, lowe and jj keep it up.

"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."

by Bravely going forward on May 10, 2009 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions

Haithcock.

Oh, Bobby.

by sdp on May 9, 2009 8:19 PM EDT reply actions

You need to pull some strings and get the MVH to post here sometime

And I don’t mean that imposter, either. That would be effing hilarious.

"…aren’t worthy enough to hold his (Pujols) ass cheeks apart while Playboy models wipe him with thousand dollar bills after he craps out the cure to whatever previously-incurable disease." by royhobbs 1/7/09

by buzzdeadwax on May 11, 2009 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions

I really thought JJ was gonna regress this year and post an ERA above 4.00. His FIP is there, but the ERA is still 2 and a quarter runs below that. So yeah…we’ll see.

"If on-base percentage is so important, then why don't they put it up on the scoreboard?"
President, CEO, and chairman of the Brandon Jones fan club. PLEASE COME BACK! PLEASE COME BACK! PLEASE COME BACK!

by bigjoe on May 9, 2009 8:19 PM EDT reply actions

i know, man, but damn its a long way to go this season

"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."

by Bravely going forward on May 10, 2009 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m not digging the decreased K/9. I’d like to see him start missing some more bats. However, his command still looks fairly good and the H/9 is nice and low so I’m cautiously optimistic.

"for my little nephew: in my second drawer where i keep my weed, under the handgun is a stack of pornos that will put callouses on your hands"

"Fundamentals are a crutch for the talentless"

"You wanna know about relationships, I know all there is to know – just ask my second wife Tina – yea she was a stripper and if Montel Williams wants to talk some shit some more then he can go f**k himself cause those charges were dropped."

-Kenny Powers

by jeg on May 10, 2009 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions

agree completely

so much to be happy about, and cant wait for our offense to get their game together (and lately we have been)

yea Huddy coming back, AND i’m sure KK will get his game together, i mean he was one of the BEST Japanese pitchers over there, it will take a little while to get used to it over here, same with any rookie (except JJ haha)

JJ will be around for a long long time, i’m loving what i’m seeing, our rotation is LOADED and our guys in the minors ANY team in baseball would love to have Tommy or Kris, and i do think we could see each of them in this season in the bigs

GO BRAVES

by bravesfan1047 on May 9, 2009 8:22 PM EDT reply actions

Excellent Post

I agree with everything mentioned above. Also don’t forget that Frenchy is starting to look much better than last year. If he can get everything to come together he can be a 30 HR, 100 RBI guy.

by wash088 on May 9, 2009 11:33 PM EDT reply actions

Ha

Dreams

by rocket8188 on May 10, 2009 7:14 AM EDT up reply actions

Yunel’s Cartel

~

The pat on the head is always a good thing

"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi

by Chief Noc-A-Homa on May 10, 2009 8:24 AM EDT reply actions

A few positives

1. Our starting pitching has averaged six innings per start so far, not counting Lowe’s rain shortened outing. We’re getting what we paid for this off season in that category.

2. When Chipper plays, we’re 5-2. With him in the lineup, we have a lot of confidence and I am going to be optomistic that he can stay healthy.

3. Rafael Soriano has been lights out.

4. FYF is hitting .308!

5. Prado and Infante have looked excellent.

6. Kotchman looks like a gold glover at first.

7. Jordan Schafer has shown glimpses of brilliance. If he is capable of taking over the leadoff role at some point this season, our lineup will look a lot better.

8. Our young guns at AAA have been nasty. At some point this season, Hanson and Medlen could be in Atlanta and our pitching will be much deeper. For Medlen at least, this could happen sooner than later.

9. New York and Philly aren’t doing too hot either.

10. At least we haven’t misspelled the names on our jerseys.

-Tgriffith3

...catsports...

by bwellnjonesco on May 11, 2009 8:55 AM EDT reply actions

Schafer

I pull so hard for the guy, I just hope he can break out of his funk soon. He has had games where he looks like the best player on the team, and then the next game he looks lost. It seems like he is so close to just breaking out and going on a tear if he could just make a few changes.

60% of the time, it works every time

by ATLandUNC on May 11, 2009 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions

What about the bullpen...

After quite an abysmal start to the season, the bullpen has really looked quite good.

they rank 12th in the Majors in ERA with 4.00
are under the league average in innings pitched of 97 innings with 90.
Rank 11th in saves with 8
Rank 26th in the MLB with 38 walks (avg is 47)
have limited opposing BA at .261

So after that game in Philly where we were ready to hang Boyer and whoever else from the rafters, the pen has held down the opposition, much with the aid of our starters going at least into the 6th and 7th innings (also a plus)

by bravesguy311 on May 11, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions

EOF FTW!

by Smoltz's Beard on May 11, 2009 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I saw during the game yesterday that since April 18th our bullpen’s ERA is something like 1.75. I guessed that was right around the time we got rid of Blaine Boyer; well, Boyer was traded on the 20th, and I’m not sure of the exact date he was DFAed, but Reyes was called up on the 18th, so I think it was then. Coincidence? I think not.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on May 11, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions